Island



(No Model.) 3 Sheets- Sheet 2. G. E. FRINK.

KNITTING MACHINE. No. 595,770. Patented Des. 21, 1897.

WZizesses: 577-0222;:

yw'n/ 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

G. E. FRINK.- KNITTING MACHINE.

Patented Dec.21,1897,

WZfnesses:

Tn: Nam-us PETERS co, PucTo-umm WASHINGTON, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT EErcE.

GEORGE E. FRINK, OF PAWTUOKET, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE E. JENCKES MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

KNITTING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 595,770, dated December 21, 1897.

Application filed March 9, 1892. Renewed March 12, 1897. Serial No. 627,224. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. FRINK, of Pawtuoket, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Knitting- Machines; and I do hereby declare the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same, to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates more particularly to circular-knitting machines of that class or type in which the machine is at times rotated, as in knitting the legs and feet of stockings, and is at other times reciprocated, as in knitting the heels and toes thereof. An illustration of this type of machine will be found shown and described in the two several Letters Patent of the United States granted to lValter Aiken, Nos. 324,795 and 324,796, both dated August 25, 1885. In the machine of said Aiken patents, as is customary in machines of the type referred to, a portion of the needles not required in heel-and-toe work are thrown out of operation simultaneously, and also certain of the needles employed in knitting heels and toes are thrown out of and into operation automatically one by one in order to effect the necessary narrowing and widening. In the machine of said Aiken patcuts that portion of the needles thrown out of operation simultaneously preparatory to the knitting of the heel and the toe required to be thrown out of operation by hand, and in addition the pattern-wheel which governed the automatic throwing out and in of the individual needles in narrowing and widening had to be moved by hand into operative position at the commencement of each heel and toe, said pattern-wheel being provided with blank space in which its operating-pawl rested during rotary knitting, requiring said patternwheel to be moved by hand so as to cause said pawl to engage one of the operative teeth of said pattern-wheel whenever it was desired to narrow and widen. As a result, in said Aiken machine three independent hand operations were required to be performed by the operator each time the machine was changed from knitting the leg or foot of a stocking to enable it to knit the heel or toe thereof-viz.,

first, the clutch had to be shifted for changing the machine from rotary to reciprocating knitting; second, aportion of the needles had to be thrown out of operation simultaneously, and, third, the pattern-wheel above referred to had to be moved into operative position; and at the completion of each heel and toe two independent hand operations were required-via, the shifting of the clutch and the throwing back into operation of that portion of the needles simultaneously thrown out of operation to enable the machine to knit the foot of the stocking or the leg of the next stocking in series. These several hand operations not only consumed time, but in addition, as will be evident, if the operator should fail or forget to perform all of said operationsthat is, if he performed certain of the operations but omitted to perform them all the machine would be brought up standing, and more or less injury to the machine would be liable to result.

The object of the present invention is to insure the accurate timing of the mechanisms which are thrown into and out of action as the machine passes from rotary to reciprocating knitting, or vice versa, and this is accomplished by so constructing and arranging the various mechanisms that they are controlled by the shifting of the clutch which effects the change of motion.

A further object of the present invention when applied to said Aiken machine is to reduce the number of hand operations and to prevent the liability to injury above referred to, and this is accomplished by certain new combinations and a certain reorganization of the parts, whereby all that is required on the part of the operator in changing from knitting the leg to knitting the heel of a stocking, for instance, is the simple shifting of the clutch to change the machine from rotary to reciprocating motion, said shifting of the clutch serving to simultaneously effect all of the operations heretofore required to be separately and independently performed by the operator.

The invention consists in the combination, with the motion changing mechanism, of mechanism controlled thereby for throwing a portion of the needles out of operation at the embodying my improvements.

commencement of the narrowing and widening operation and back into operation for the resumption of circular knitting.

The invention further consists in the combination, with the motion-changing mechanism, of mechanism controlled thereby for effecting the narrowing and widening.

The invention further consists in certain features and combinations hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown my invention applied to a machine of the same general organization and construction as that shown and described in the Aiken patents above referred to, to which patents reference may be had for a detailed description of the several parts of the machine and of its general organization and mode of operation. It will be necessary in this connection to illustrate and describe, in addition to the features of improvement constituting the present invention, only so much of the machine as may be necessary to understand how said features of improvement are to be applied to and combined with the other parts of the machine.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 represents a top or plan View of a knitting-machine Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of so much of the same as is necessary to illustrate my invention. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 4: is a detail showing the means for throwing the pattern-wheel pawl into and out of operation. Fig. 5 is a detail showing the cam-groove for actuating the pattern-wheel pawl. Fig. 6 is a detail showing one of the cam-slides.

A represents the frame of the machine, which is of suitable shape to support the working parts. Upon the main shaft of the machine (not shown in the drawings) are suitable pulleys, from which pulleys two belts extend to the grooves of the pulley A on the shaft B, mounted in the frame. The pulleys on the main shaft are usually of different diameters, and the belts passing over the pulley A are each to be provided with a suitable belt-tightener, whereby either of said belts may be made taut at will, and thus cause the shaft 13 to be revolved at either one or the other of two different rates of speed, the higher rate of speed being employed when the machine is to be rotated and the lower rate of speed being employed when the machine is to be reciprocated. The shaft B hasa pinion B, which engages the gear-wheel B which in turn engages the pinion B loose on the shaft.

splined upon it a shifting clutch a under the control of a hand-lever a the teeth of which. clutch are adapted to engage cooperating The shaft 01, has

clutch-teeth on the sides of the loose pinions l3 and B and so that by shifting said clutch to in one direction or the other the shaft a will be connected to and operated by either the pinion B or the pinion B, as may be desired. Attached to the shaft a are two bevelgears C and D, the former engaging the bevelteeth on the needle cam-plate O and the latter engaging the bevel-teeth on the sinkeractuating cam-ring D. As the pinion B is continuously rotated by the gear-wheel B and as the pinion B is reciprocated by its cooperating rack-bar it will be understood that when the shifting clutch a is engaged with the pinion B the shaft a, and consequently the cam-plate C and the cam-ring D, will be continuously rotated for the production of circular work, and when the clutch Ct is engaged with the pinion B the shaft a, and consequently the cam-plate C and the cam ring D, will be reciprocated for the production of heel-and-toe work.

For the purpose of explaining the present invention it may be assumed that the machine is provided with needles, needle-shifters, cam-grooved segments for moving certain of the needles one by one out of and into the path of the needle-operating cams for the purpose of narrowing and widening, and segmental cam-slides for throwing a portion of the needles out of and into operation simultaneously of the character shown and clescribed in said Aiken patents above referred to. For eifeetingthe proper movement of the cam grooved segments for automatically throwing individual needles out of and into action in narrowing and widening the machine is also provided with the pattern-wheel E, carrying the pattern-pins b for actuating the levers b b and the pawl-levers b Z9 said pattern-wheel being operated by the pawl c, as hereinafter explained.

Referring now to those parts of the machine which embody the improvements constituting the present invention, the clutchlever a is pivoted at a", Fig. 1, and attached to said clutch-lever near one end thereof is a link d, the other end of which link is connected to one arm of a bell-crank lever e, pivoted to the frame at e. 'To the other arm of said bell-crank lever is connected one end of another link f, the other end of which link is connected to the projecting pin g, attached to one of the segmental cam-slides g, above referred to. It will be seen upon reference to Fig. 1 of the drawings that as the clutchlever a is moved in the direction to engage the clutch to with the pinion B the pin 9 and the segmental slides g operated thereby will be moved in a direction-to throw the needles controlled by said cam-slides into operation, and when said clutch-lever is moved in the opposite direction, and so as to engage the clutch a with the pinion B", said pin g and cam-slides 9 will bemoved in a direction to throwsaid needles out of operation, the movement of said cam-slides being thus effected I OC- by the shifting of the clutch-lever and thereby dispensing entirely with the separate hand operation heretofore required for the purpose.

In the machine of said Aiken patents the pattern-wheel pawl was always in operation when the machine was in motion; but the pattern-wheel, which was provided with ratchetteeth upon its periphery, hada missing tooth, constituting a blank space, and so that when the operating-pawl reached said blank space the pattern-wheel would come to a standstill, the pawl continuing to play in said blank space, but without transmitting anymotion to the pattern-wheel until the operator moved said pattern-wheel by hand so as to bring the pawl into engagement with one of the ratchetteeth on said pattern-wheel. By my present invention I do away with the blank space in the pattern-wheel, and instead of having the operating-pawl continuously in motion I operate said pawl through a clutch connection, whereby by shifting said last-named clutch said pawl may be thrown into or out of operation, as may be desired. In addition I have by suitable mechanism combined said pawl clutch with the main shifting clutch of the machine, whereby the shifting of said main clutch will serve to throw the pattern-wheel into operation without any further or independent hand operation.

Pivoted to the frame of the machine is a lever h, one end of which engages the groove in the main shifting clutch a, as shown in Fig. 1. The opposite end of the lever h is provided with a fork, which engages a grooved collar h, secured to one end of the rod 71 arranged to slide in suitable supports on the frame of the machine. said rod 77, is secured a hub or collar 7L3, provided with a depending fork h, said fork 71, engaging with the groove of a clutch h splin ed to the shaft 2, which said shaft is oscillated by a cam-groove 2' on the face of the gear B engaging a stud or roll on the arm t", secured to the shaft 1 Mounted loosely upon an extension of the shaft 2' is a hub i carrying an arm 2' to the lower end of which arm the pattern-wheel pawl c is pivoted. The hub i is provided with clutch-teeth to be engaged by the teeth of the clutch 71 By the combination and organization of parts above described it will be seen that as the main clutch a is moved in a direction to engage the pinion B and so rotate the machine for circular knitting, the pattern-wheel pawl-clutch 7L5 will, through the lever h, the sliding rod 71 and the fork h, be moved so as to disengage said clutch in from the hub i and thus throw the pawl 0 out of operation, and when the main clutch a is moved in the opposite direction, and so as to connect said clutch with the pinion 13 to reciprocate the machine for heel-and-toe work, the patternwheel pawl-clutch it will be moved so as to engage said clutch with the hub t and thus throw the pawl c and the pattern-Wheel E into operation to cause the individual nee- To the other end of -dles to be automaticallyjhrown out of and into operation during the process of narrowing and widening, and thus dispensing entirely with the separate independent hand operation heretofore required to move the pattern-wheel so that it would be actuated by its pawl.

Thus by theimprovements above described two of the hand operations heretofore required to be performed each time the machine was to be changed from circular knitting to heel-and-toe work are entirely dispensed with and the liability to injury to the machine in cident to neglect or carelessness on the part of the operator is entirely avoided, and the only thing required to be done by the operator is simply to throw the clutch-lever a the throwing of which will not only shift the main clutch and change the machine from rotary to reciprocating knitting, or vice versa, but will also serve to throw out of or into operation simultaneously a portion of the needles not required for heel-and-toe work, and at the same time to throw out of or into operation the pattern-wheel which governs and controls the automatic throwing out of or into operation of the individual needles in narrowing and widening.

While I have shown and described my present improvements applied to the machine of the Aiken patents referred to and while said improvements have certain special advantages when applied to said machine, it will be understood that my invention is not limited in its application to this type of machine or to the forms of mechanisms shown, but

comprises any form of mechanism in which the action of the instep-needles or the narrowing and widening, or both, is controlled from the motion-changing mechanism.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The combination with a motion-changing mechanism embodying a shaft, a rotary pinion on said shaft, an oscillating pinion on said shaft, a clutch for connecting either of said pinions to said shaft, and means for shiftingsaid clutch to change the motion from rotary to reciprocating and vice versa of mechanism controlled by said clutch-shifting means for effecting the narrowing and widening.

2. The combination with mechanism for changing the motion from rotary to reciprocating or vice versa embodying a shifting clutch, of mechanism controlled by the shifting of said clutch for rendering a portion of the needles not required in narrowing and widening operative or inoperative.

3. The combination with a motion-changing mechanism embodying a shaft, a rotating pinion, an oscillating pinion, a clutch for connecting either of said pinions to said shaft, and means for shifting said clutch to change the motion from rotary to reciprocating and vice versa, of mechanism for throwing individual needles out of operation, and means connected with said clutch for controlling the operation of said mechanism.

l. The combination with motion-changing mechanism embodying a rotating pinion, an oscillating pinion, a clutch for engaging either of said pinions, and means for shifting said clutch to change the motion from rotary to reciprocating and vice versa, of mechanism for controlling the operation of individual needles in narrowing and widening and means for controlling the operation of said mechanism from said clutch-shifting means.

5. The combination with mechanism for changing the motion from rotary to reciprocating, or vice versa embodying a shifting clutch, of mechanism for throwing the needles not required in narrowing and widening out of and into operation, mechanism for effecting the narrowing and widening, and means for controlling both of said mechanisms from said clutch.

6. In a knitting-machine, the combination with the main shifting clutch and the segmental cam-slide for controlling the operation of a portion of the needles not required in the operation of narrowing and widening, of mechanism, substantially as described, for connecting said shifting clutch and said camslide, whereby the shifting of said clutch will serve to operate said cam-slide in the proper direction, substantially as described.

7. In a knitting-machine the combination with the main shifting clutch, a patternwheel, a pawl for operating said patternwheel, and devices for actuating said pawl, of mechanism for connecting said shifting clutch with said pawl actuating devices, whereby the shifting of said main clutch in one direction or the other will serve to throw said pattern-wheel pawl out of or into operation, substantially as described.

8. The combination with the main shifting clutch and the segmental cam-slide for controlling the operation of a portion of the needles not required in narrowing and widening, of mechanism for connecting said shifting clutch with said segmental cam-slide, a pat tern wheel for controlling the automatic throwing out or in of individual needles in the operation of narrowing and widening, a pawl for operating said pattern -wheel, devices for actuating said pawl, and mechanism for connecting said main clutch with said pawl-actuating devices, whereby the shifting of said clutch will serve not only to change the machine from rotary to reciprocating motion, or vice versa, but also to throw a portion of the needles simultaneously out of or into operation, and at the same time to throw said pattern-wheel into or out of operation, substantially as described.

9. The combination with the main shifting clutch, of mechanism for controlling the operation of a portion of the needles not required in narrowing and widening, and means for connecting said mechanism with said main shifting clutch, whereby the shifting of said clutch will serve not only to change the machine from rotary to reciprocating motion and vice versa, but also to throw a portion of the needles simultaneously out of or into operation, substantially as described.

10. The combination with the main shifting clutch, of pattern mechanism for controlling the operation of individual needles in narrowing and widening, devices for operating said pattern mechanism, and means for connecting said operating devices with said main shiftin g clutch, whereby the shifting of said clutch will serve not only to change the machine from rotary to reciprocating motion or vice Versa, but also to throw said pattern mechanism into or out of operation, substan-- tially as described.

11. The combination with the main shifting clutch, of mechanism for controlling the operation of a portion of the needles not required in narrowing and widening, means for connecting said mechanism with said main shifting clutch, pattern mechanism for controlling the operation of individual needles in narrowing and widening, devices for operating said pattern mechanism, and means for connecting said operating devices with said main shifting clutch, whereby the shifting of said clutch will serve not only to change the machine from rotary to reciprocating motion or vice versa but also to throw a portion of the needles simultaneously out of or into operation, and at the same time to throw said pattern mechanism into or out of operation, substantially as described.

GEORGE E. FRINK.

Witnesses:

W. H. THURSTON, S. J. MURPHY. 

